Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Beaded Necklace



Seed beads, pearls, a stone that I don't have a clue what is called and a hand made ceramic focal point.

All the beaded necklaces are strung on a thin, flexible wire.

Beaded Necklace




A good friend gave me some cat's eye beads which I used in this necklace along with seed beads and pearls. The focal bead is hand made ceramic.

Beaded Necklace



I used red and green beads - but I don't remember what type of stone they are. I also used seed beads and the button is one of my hand made ceramic pieces.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Beaded necklace





Glass beads, seed beads, hand made ceramic button.

Beaded necklace




Coral, pearls, seed beads and a hand made ceramic button.

Beaded necklace





Seed beads, pearls and a hand made ceramic focal bead.

Beaded necklace





Seed beads, pearls and a hand made ceramic button.

Beaded necklace




Hand made ceramic beads and a hand made ceramic focal bead.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Black Sheep







I bought some yarn that had been spun from the fleece of a black sheep. It's a beautiful, warm brown color. I tried to recreate that in this sculpture. I used a translucent glaze that I made myself and used both white and brown clay hoping that the differences in the clay would be apparent through the glaze. I tested the glaze in an electric kiln. This piece was fired in a gas kiln in oxidation. I didn't quite get what I wanted from the glaze, but I do like the overall sculpture.

Another Self Portrait



What Happens When Good Girls Get Angry





Her head blows up.

Latest Female Sculptures





Flashing




I've no idea how I came to have that red flash on this piece. I do know the piece was near one of the burners. The nice part is how well the flashing works with the carving I had done.

Some Disappointing Results







This piece has good news and bad news. I used a fiber clay, and I'm very disappointed with the cracking. That huge crack in the front wasn't there after the bisque firing. I'm thinking that perhaps I fired too fast. The good news is that I do love the way the piece came out. The arms sagged pretty much exactly as I hoped they would. The pockets are "real" in that I actually could insert a finger in the pocket. I like how the colors on the dress came out. I like the way fiber clay can be made very thin and that's how I did the ruffle on the bottom. I had great fun making the hair and greater fun adding the blue highlights.

Opening the Kiln



I did my first glaze firing in the manual gas kiln this weekend. I'm still learning how to work the manual gas kiln. Here are the results when I opened the kiln door this afternoon.

Turning a porcelain bead into a necklace





Here's my first attempt at turning a porcelain bead into a necklace. I learned lots doing this and the next one will be better.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Ceramic Jewelry Pieces





These will get made into pendants and probably combined with other beads.

Ceramic Earrings



I have to attach them to ear hooks, but I can't wait to wear them.